Eating Well Makes You A Better Philosopher

The right diet is important not because it helps you live longer, they are quick to point out, but because it makes you a better philosopher. Think about what a better person you could be if you didn’t fucking hate yourself after gorging your face at a dinner, or feel sick and bloated with gluten, to which you’re allergic. If you felt in control of, and confident about, your body instead of lethargic and dissatisfied. Jumping these dietary hurdles is, in effect, a dress rehearsal for awareness in other areas. How much easier would it then be to be empathic, kind and generous? To focus on other people with energy that’s no longer directed at your own problems?

From “Looking to the Dietary Gods: Eating Well According to the Ancients,” a guest post by Ryan Holiday on Tim Ferriss’ blog. Really solid stuff, as Holiday describes the eating philosophies of Seneca, Epicurus, and others in a holistic way, tying it into every day life. What I like is that he approaches the question from a philosophical standpoint, not just a simple “what should I eat to be healthy?” standpoint. He even references veganism and the idea that you need to be able to “look yourself in the mirror” after creating the morality of whatever food you just put in your mouth. Are you really okay with eating factory-farmed meat? How about highly processed sugar? How do you feel afterwards? Is it keeping you from doing other, totally awesome things in your life?

It’s worth a read, and Ferriss never disappoints when it comes to riveting posts, even when they happen to be from someone else. For some more thought-provoking stuff, read Holiday’s diatribe against story-telling (yes, you read that right): The Narrative Fallacy. The comments below are pretty wild…

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I loved this! It’s so true that feeling good about (and because of) what I’m eating has given me more time to focus on other “totally awesome things” in my life. I also believe it has made me more kind and generous too :)